Saturday’s move of Texas Country KOKE-FM Austin from FM to internet only was supposed to entail the entire airstaff remaining with the station, however morning hosts Bob Cole & Eric Raines abruptly resigned over the weekend.
Cole and Raines were both minority partners in KOKE-FM owner Genuine Austin Radio. The pair were involved in the 2012 launch of KOKE-FM. Cole previously spent 21 years at iHeartMedia Austin hosting mornings on Country 98.1 KVET-FM and serving as Operations Manager after a previous stint at the original 95.5 KOKE-FM as PD/morning host. Raines, who also programmed and hosted afternoons at KOKE-FM, also worked with Cole at KVET-FM and programmed KUSJ/KLTD Temple TX.
With their departures, as well as that of midday host Deena Blake, previous evening hosts Scotty Bennett and Amber Sorensen have moved to mornings. Weekend host and former morning/afternoon co-host Rita Ballou has moved to afternoons.
The station released a statement commenting, “If there is ever one constant in media, it is the unpredictability. As we navigate the transition associated with the sale of our station tower frequencies, there have been some unexpected changes to the lineup. We understand that these changes can be surprising and may affect your listening experience, and we appreciate your patience and continued support during this transition. Thank you for your understanding and continued loyalty to KOKE.”
Norsan Media began operating the FM signals of KOKE-FM on Saturday with new Spanish language formats.
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com